Tube cleaning device



Nov. 10, 1959 E. J. MACKIEWICZ ETAL 2,911,665

TUBE CLEANING DEVICE Filed Dec. 19, 1955 INVENTOR. EDWARD J. MAOKIEWIOZBY ARTHUR L.LINDOW A rromvsy United States Patent lice TUBE CLEANINGDEVICE Edward J. Mackievvicz, Garfieldfand Arthur L. Lindow,

Solon, Ohio, assignors to Cleveland Pneumatic Industries, Inc,Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 19,1955,'Serial.N0. 553,993 z claims. (Cl. 15 -321 This invention relatesto cleaning devices in general and more particularly to -a new andimproved rotary brush adapted to clean tubes, cylinder bores and thelike.

It is an important object of this invention to' provide a rotary brushparticularly suited for cleaning tubes, the bores of cylinders or otherhollow articles to remove grease, grit and metallic particles therefrom.

' It is another important'object of this invention to provide a powerdriven rotary brush which supplies a fog of cleaning solvent at theworking area of the brush sothat grease and foreign matter will beloosened and flushed outof the article being cleaned. v

It is still, another objectof this invention to provide a rotarybrushfor"cleaning boresand the like in combination with a magnetwhichpicks upand removes metal- It is "still" "a further object'of thisinve'ntion'to provide a tube or bore cleaning device which combines arotary brush to scour the surface of the bore, a magnet which picks upand retains magnetic particles and means to supply a solvent in the formof fog at the brush working area.

Further objects and advantages will appear from the followingdescription and drawings, wherein;

Figure 1 is a side elevation partially in longitudinal sectiondisclosing the preferred cleaning device according to this invention asit would be used to clean the bore of a cylinder;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view partially in longitudinal section showingthe fog producing means; and,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view in longitudinal section of thebrush showing the magnet mounted therein.

A cleaning device according to this invention provides a grease solventin a fog form which thoroughly wets the wall of a tube or the like whichis to be cleaned. The device also provides mechanical scrubbing toassist the solvent in loosening grease or any other foreign matter sothat it may be flushed out of the tube by the solvent. This alone is notalways sufficient since fine particles of metal left by the machiningoperation are often present. These small particles usually retain asmall amount of residual magnetism which is developed by the cuttingoperation which causes the particles to adhere to the walls of the tubeand defy the flushing action. We therefore provide a magnet mountedwithin the brush which will attract the metallic particles away from thetube, imbed them in the brush and retain them there as the brush iswithdrawn.

For a clear understanding of the details of the structure and theoperation, reference should be made to the drawings wherein Figure 1shows the preferred cleaning device as it would be used in cleaning thewalls of a tubular member which in this case is a cylinder 10. Thecylinder has an internal cylinder wall 11 which must be cleaned veryefficiently so that a cooperating piston (not shown) will not wearunnecessarily as it slides along the cylinder wall 11. To clean the wall11 we provide a rotary cleaning device which includes an air motor 12driving a hollow shaft 13 and a brush 14 mounted thereon. The air motoris supplied with air pressure through a pressure line 15 and a controlvalve 15 and rotates the shaft 13 and-brush 14 which in turn scours thewall 11 of the cylinder 10.

Referring to Figure 2, the shaft 13 is formed with a central bore 16through which the solvent fog passes to the brush 14. The exhaust ports17 of the air motor 12 are arrangedso that the exhaust air from themotor flows through a nozzle 18 alignedwith the bore 16. A mountingmember 19, on which the shaft 13 is mounted, is formed with a chamberZlaround the nozzle 18. Mineral spirits or other solvents are suppliedthrough a hose 22 which connects to an annular chamber 23 around themounting member 19 adjacent to the chamber 21. Fluid communication isprovided between the chamber 21 and the annular chamber 23 throughradial ports 24 so that the mineral spirits flow into the chamber 21.The jet of exhaust air through the nozzle 18 entrains and atomizes thesolvent and carries it down the bore 16 as a fog.

Referring to Figure 3, the brush 14 is supported on the shaft 13 'by athreaded ring member 26 which is locked against a collar 27 formed onthe shaft 13 by a core member 28 which-is in turn threaded onto theshaft 13. The'brush 14 itselfis made up of a plurality of 'U-shapedbrush elements which cooperate to form a cup shaped brush around thecore member 28. The core member 28' is formed with a plurality of ports29 through which the mixture of exhaust air from the motor 12 andatomized solvent passes frorn 'the bore 16 outwardly through the brush14. Thus the fog solvent is supplied directly to the walls 11 beingcleaned by the brush 14.

A coil of wire 31 is wound around the core 28 to form a magnet withinthe brush 14. In order to supply electrical power to the magnet, weprovide lead wires 32 which extend through the bore 16 to a pair of sliprings (not shown) within the end member 33. The slip rings are in turnconnected to a source of electrical power through wires 34. Thuselectrical power may be supplied to the rotating magnet through therotating shaft 13.

In operation air pressure is supplied to the valve 15 through thepressure line 15, and mineral spirits are supplied to the chamber 21through the hose 22. The brush 14 is inserted into the cylinder 10 andthe valve 15' is opened. This causes the airmotor 12 to rotate the brush14 and pass exhaust air through the bore 16 in the shaft 13 to the brush14. The exhaust air passing through the nozzle 18 causes the mineralspirits within the chamber 21 to be atomized to form a fog of solventwhich passes through the shaft 13 to the brush 14. The fog wets thesurface 11 of the cylinder 10 and with the as- 'sistance of the brush 14loosens the grease or other foreign matter from the wall 11. The solventthen carries the foreign matter and grease out of the cylinder throughthe open end thereof. Any small metallic particles which tend to adhereto the surface 11 due to their residual magnetism are attracted into thebristles of the brush by the magnet and retained there as the brush iswithdrawn from the cylinder. After the brush is withdrawn from thecylinder, the magnet is de-energized and the brush rotated so that thecentrifugal force and the action of the fog will automatically clean'thebrush.

2,91 1,665 Patented N03 '10, 1959 Thoseskilled in the artwill recognizethat a cleaning device according to this invention insures that all theforeign matter is removed from the cylinder or other tubular membersince the brush and solvent will remove all non-magnetic particlesandthe magnet removes the magnetic particles which tend to adhere to thecylinder wall and defy normal brushing.

Although a preferred embodiment -of this invention is illustrated, itwill be realized that various modifications of the structural detailsmay be made without departing from the mode of operation and the essenceof the invention. Therefore, except insofar as they are claimed in theappended claims, structural details may be varied widely withoutmodifying the mode of operation. Accordingly, the appended claims andnot the aforesaid detailed description are determinative of the scope ofthe invention.

We claim:

1. A cleaning device comprising a rotary compressed air motor drivinglyconnected to one end of an elongated hollow drive shaft, a brush adaptedto be inserted in cylindrical openings, said brush being mounted on theend of said shaft remote from said motor for rotation by said motorthrough its connection to said shaft, said motor providing exhaust air,a nozzle in the end of said shaft adjacent to said motor through whichsaid exhaust air flows, a non-rotating housing around said shaftadjacent to said nozzle formed with. an annular cavity adapted to befilled with liquid solvent, said shaft being formed with apassage'connecting said cavity and the interior of said shaft adjacentto said nozzle through which said liquid solvent flows into said shaftwherein it is mixed with exhaust air forming a liquid solvent fogmixture, said exhaust air carrying said fog mixture along said shaft tosaid brush. .7

2. A cleaning device comprising a rotary compressed air motor drivinglyconnected to one end of ail-elongated hollow drive shaft, a brushadapted to be inserted in cylindrical openings, said brush being mountedon the end of said shaft remote from said motor for rotation by saidmotor through its connection to said shaft, said motor providing exhaustair, a nozzle in the end of said shaft adjacent to said motor throughwhich said exhaust air flows, a non-rotating housing around said shaftadjacent to said nozzle formed with an annular cavity adapted to befilled with liquid solvent, said Shaft being formed with a passageconnecting said cavity and the interior of said shaft adjacent to saidnozzle through which said liquid solvent flows into said shaft whereinit is mixed with exhaust air forming a liquid solvent fog mixture, saidexhaust air carrying said fog mixture along said shaft'to said brush,and an electro magnet within said brush adapted to attract metalparticles into said brush.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,240,017 Benedict Sept. 11, 1917 1,383,291 Divirglio July 2, 19211,410,660 Duclos Mar; 28, 1922 1,414,605 To lookjian May2, 19221,449,198 Rutherford Mar. 20, 1923 1,458,612 Berkshire June 12, 19232,270,579 Chamberlin et a1. I an. 20, 1942 2,288,115 Soldanels June 30,1942 2,549,529 Sandlin Apr. 17, 1951 2,632,191 Grafani et all Mar. 24,1953 2,659,915 Sears NOV. 24, 1953 2,719,994 Dorsey l 1 Oct. 11, 1955FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Nov. 23, 1953

